One of the great entrepreneurs and impresarios of the early French automobile industry, Adolphe Clément had his initial success racing bicycles, moving into their sale and manufacturer in 1895. The following year his firm merged with that of fellow pioneer Alexandre Darracq, and in 1897 introduced its first motor vehicle, then known as the Clément-Panhard. By 1901 the firm was producing a four-cylinder model, modernised further the following year with overhead intake valves and producing some 16 horsepower. The result was one of the most powerful and sophisticated British motorcars of the Veteran age, known for the superb quality of its engineering.

According to a 1934 description in that year’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run programme, this particular 12/16 HP Clément was originally delivered in its home country but moved across the Channel in early 1905. It was stored for nearly a quarter of a century in the owner’s coach house until its acquisition in 1933 by one A R Utley, passing soon after to noted early British collector A W F Smith. Wearing the Manchester registration “N1261”, apparently issued upon its arrival in England, the car was campaigned in its well-preserved original condition by Smith on the Run until 1938, then postwar in 1946, and again from 1947 through 1956. In 1948 it was officially dated as a 1903 model by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain, with the Certificate on file.

Described as still being very original down to its paint, the car was sold at the dispersal of the Smith stable in 1968 to renowned collector Neil Corner, who himself drove it on that year’s Run. It was eventually transacted by Corner to A M ‘Tony’ Goodman, then in 1977 to prominent American collector Barry Hon. Mr Hon maintained the car for some years in England, occasionally exercising it on the Run. He had a new crankshaft installed in addition to other mechanical works such as the fitment of disc brakes, in the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 2000s it was brought to California and restored by the noted Tired Iron Works of Monrovia, after which it was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2006.

Acquired by the present owner from the Hon collection in 2015, the Clément has undergone much mechanical sorting. This includes the fitment of a 12-volt electrical system with alternator and LED lights, for reliability and safety in use on future Runs, with invoices for works through 2023 included in the file. The result is a delightful machine in every regard, with fine build quality, an excellent restoration, and rich heritage with some of the most prominent Veteran motorcar enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic.